Malaysia is planning to introduce the use of the new QR code-enabled MyKad for the purchase of subsidised cooking oil packets, a move that could eventually replace the need for consumers to use the Cooking Oil Price Stabilisation Scheme System (eCOSS) application.
Deputy Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Minister Datuk Fuziah Salleh said the proposal is currently being developed in collaboration with the National Registration Department (NRD) and retailers.
She said the chip embedded in the new MyKad would require compatible devices capable of identifying users when purchasing subsidised cooking oil, as existing devices are currently limited to verifying recipients of the Sumbangan Asas Rahmah (SARA) and Sumbangan Tunai Rahmah (STR) programmes.
Fuziah was responding to a supplementary question from Rasah MP Cha Kee Chin, who asked whether the new MyKad could eventually replace the eCOSS application for subsidised cooking oil purchases.
She said discussions with the NRD and retailers are ongoing to enable the implementation of the proposed system.
According to Fuziah, more than 5.26 million Malaysians had registered with the eCOSS application as of July 3, with the platform recording an average of 18 million subsidised cooking oil packet purchases every month.
Introduced last year, eCOSS was developed to monitor the distribution of subsidised cooking oil from retailers to consumers, allowing authorities to better track the final stage of the supply chain.
Fuziah said the ministry measures the effectiveness of the system based on the availability of subsidised cooking oil in the market and its success in preventing foreign nationals from purchasing the subsidised product.
She cited Johor as an example, where complaints regarding shortages of subsidised cooking oil dropped from nine cases in June 2023 to two cases in June 2024 following the state’s pilot implementation of eCOSS.
During the same period, recorded sales increased significantly from 1,330 packets to 1.96 million packets, with around 580,000 users adopting the application.
Addressing concerns over elderly consumers who may not own smartphones, Fuziah assured that the ministry would continue allowing manual purchases.
She added that the ministry has yet to obtain comprehensive data on consumers using the manual method, as those transactions are currently recorded in retailers’ logbooks.
“Collecting the information is complicated, but we need the data to better understand how many people still rely on the manual purchasing method,” she said.
